Yes, we Indians eat with our hands. Our food is spicy. We have the World’s biggest family with 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren. And an Indian Maharaja once bought six Rolls Royce from its London showroom and then used them for garbage collection in India. Why? Legend goes that the showroom attendant had mistaken the Raja for a poor man and shown him the door.

A list of facts about India and its way of life could take years to read. So here are my top 8 Fun Facts about India, and they don’t include snake-charmers.

8 Fun Facts About India

Snakes and Ladders board game was invented in India with the intention of teaching morality lessons. This ancient Indian board game is popular with kids worldwide and represents life’s virtues and vices as ladders and snakes. Interestingly, my twins and I play a Snakes and Ladders board game version where snakes have been replaced by slides.

India is huge, and no I am not talking about the population. Wikipedia states that “According to Census of India of 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages.” Almost every household in India is multilingual. I learned four languages from my elders: English, Hindi, Punjabi and Nepalese.

Have you heard of a Floating Post Office? In August 2011, India got it first floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar. Trust me, I would trade places with the post office head anytime. With beautiful Himalayas in the backdrop and a breathtaking Tulip Garden, you’d want to post love letters from here.

Living Bridges with tree roots in Meghalaya, India – Ironically, the living bridges created by the local people are a dying art. Almost 180 years ago, the village elders brought together rubber tree roots and Areca nut palms to grow a strong and sturdy bridge. It took 18 to 20 years for it to grow and connect two river banks. These bridges became a lifeline for people across Meghalaya.

Shakuntla Devi, The Human Calculator, calculated two 13 digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779 within 28 seconds. Interestingly, she was also a celebrated author of children’s books such as Puzzles to Puzzle You, Awaken the Math Genius in Your Child, and more.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar feeds a vegetarian meal to over 100,000 people a day. The first Guru of Sikh people started this tradition years ago. Interestingly, they require 1000 cylinders to make a meal in the Langar there.

The highest cricket ground in the world, Chail Cricket Ground in Chail, Himachal Pradesh, resides at an altitude of 2,444 meters. This is not the only claim to fame for this beautiful town. Yours truly was born here, too. On a serious note, this is a popular hill station, surrounded by Deodars and experiences heavy snowfall. Even today, the Chail Cricket Ground has never hosted a single big game or even a test-match.

Auroville, The City of Dawn, was founded by Mirra Alfaza as an experimental township. According to Alfaza, “Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics, and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.” I have never been here, but everyone who has visited has become a fan for life. This is where people head to in these times of global mistrust and religious fanaticism.

India truly is as big and colorful as its cinema. We call our mothers: moms, ma, mums, mata ji, bebe, Aayee, Biji, and more. There is a different dish for every occasion, even for death anniversaries. We consider the color red super auspicious while white represents death. And yes, Indian Cobra is a real thing, but the days of snake-charmers have fast faded behind our technical achievements. India is a beautiful country. When you decide to visit, the country will overwhelm you with the love and attention. In India we say “Phir Milenge” (till we meet again) and not goodbye.

Jaggery Hot Chocolate: Indian-Inspired Treat

Poppy the Proud: Indian Fable and Peacock Craft

Let’s Discover India Through a Party!

Celebrating Raksha Bandhan in India

Welcome to our fourth annual Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Blog Series and Giveaway! Follow along all month for ideas about sharing with kids the rich cultures of this vast and varied region. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway below and link up your posts at the bottom of the page.

For even more ideas, visit our blog hops from last year, 2015 and 2014. You can also follow our Asia and Australia & Oceania boards on Pinterest.

May 1
Miss Panda Chinese on Multicultural Kid Blogs: 10 Fun Facts About Taiwan for Kids

May 5
Chinese American Family: Visiting Locke and Connecting with California’s Rural Chinese History

May 11
The Art Curator for Kids: Chinese Bronze Vessels with Abstract Zoomorphic Designs

May 15
Crafty Moms Share: Our Japanese Tea Party

May 17
Bicultural Mama: The Limitations of DNA Testing for Asian Americans

May 19
Wise Owl Factory: Cherry Blossom Books and Craft Idea

May 22
Ketchup Moms on Multicultural Kid Blogs

May 24
All Done Monkey

May 25
Miss Panda Chinese

May 30
All Done Monkey

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Giveaway

Enter below for a chance to win one of our great prize packages in our annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month giveaway! The giveaway goes from May 1 to May 31, 2017, at midnight PT. If the winner falls outside the shipping area of a prize, that prize will revert to the next lower prize package. Read our full giveaway rules.

And for all of our readers, here is a special offer from our sponsor Tingomo! Use the code TENOFFTINGOMO to get 10% off any pre-order! (first kits to ship in July)

Grand Prize

From One Dear World: Set of 4 plush multicultural dolls, each with its own passport, plus the story book The Adventure of Hat Hunting in London, starring the dolls as the main characters
From Tuttle Publishing: Adventures in Asian Art, Indonesian Children’s Favorite Stories, Malaysian Children’s Favorite Stories, and Filipino Children’s Favorite Stories
From Wisdom Tales: Rock Maiden – US Shipping Only
From Bollywood Groove: Go on a fun adventure with Maya & Neel and learn about famous festivals and places in India! In this very colorful, three-picture-book series, kids will learn about festival of lights – Diwali (Amazon best-seller), festival of colors – Holi and the home of Bollywood – city of Mumbai. US Shipping Only
From Miss Panda Chinese: Winner’s choice of an “Everyday” learning unit with audio links
From Tingomo: Passport Craft™ Kit: Make Your Own NEPAL Paper Lanterns US Shipping Only, will ship in July

1st Prize

From World Music with Daria: set of tingsha (handbells) US Shipping Only
From Quarto Knows: Summer Under the Tamarind Tree, I is for Iran, and 50 Things You Should Know About the Vietnam War – US Shipping Only
From Monika Schröder: Saraswati’s Way – US Shipping Only
From Miss Panda Chinese: Winner’s choice of an “Everyday” learning unit with audio links
From Tingomo: Passport Craft™ Kit: Make Your Own NEPAL Paper Prayer Flags US Shipping Only, will ship in July

2nd Prize

From The Dumpling Mama: Pack of 20 good luck envelopes: Give good luck wishes with money in a red envelope. Perfect for Lunar New Year, birthdays, graduations, and holidays US/Canada Shipping Only
From Kathleen Burkinshaw: The Last Cherry Blossom – US Shipping Only
From Candlewick Press: A Piece of Home and Bronze and Sunflower – US Shipping Only
From Miss Panda Chinese: Winner’s choice of an “Everyday” learning unit with audio links

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Charu Chhitwal

Founder of KetchupMoms & Kidzlens. Freelance content creator who loves photography, travelling and everything about India. Award-winning copy-writer, HuffingtonPost Blogger, mom to twins- a boy and a girl.